Review

(My review on goodreads)

It has been 10 years since the previous novel in this series, and we have known for that entire time what the subject would be, and that it would be the last in the series. So that set a pretty high bar, and I can understand why the author put this off for so long.

This series was my introduction to quasi-historical murder mystery novels, so I will always be grateful to Steven Saylor for that. And i was never disappointed by any of the novels in the series, including this one. Gordianus has reached retirement age and is ready to lead a quiet life, having acquired enough money and promotion mto equestrian rank in the prior two novels (if I remember correctly). But it is not to be: he is recruited by Cicero, Caesar, and his friend, the poet Cinna, to investigate possible threats in the days leading up to the Ides of March, 44 B.C.E.

This is by no means the best novel in the Gordianus series, but it was a perfectly acceptable last novel, and I enjoyed reading it.

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